Politic?: Good Friends and Neighbours : Russia/North Korea

"I firmly believe that the heroic Russian army and people will brilliantly inherit their victories and traditions and vigorously demonstrate their noble dignity and honour on the two fronts of military operations and building a powerful nation."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

"Korea is our neighbor. One way or another, we must build good neighborly relations with our neighbors."

"Yes, there are certain special [circumstances] associated with the Korean peninsula, we are discussing this, discussing it openly."
"[Russia] never violates anything, and in this case, we are not going to violate anything either."
Russian President Vladimir Putin

"[Moscow sees] the potential for cooperation both in aircraft manufacturing and in other industries [with North Korea]."
"We see the potential for cooperation both in aircraft manufacturing and in other industries – this is especially relevant for achieving the tasks our countries face to achieve technological sovereignty."
Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Denis Manturov

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un shaking hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur region.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia's Amur region. Photograph: KCNA via KNS/AFP/Getty Images

North Korea's leader is given to gushingly lavish language when expressing his pleasure at incidents where he is given the respect he craves, as a world leader of consequence. One, lamentably, whose citizenry is food-insecure while their leader's treasury priorities embrace costly research and production of highly technical weaponry. 'Noble dignity', 'honour' and 'heroism' has been conspicuously absent in the actions of the Russian military with its Kremlin-ordered invasion of Ukraine. An inconvenient detail that Kim flicks away if he is even aware of such mundane items.

Both leaders, however, facing the opprobrium of much of the free world for their threats to world peace in their aspirational overreach for power and recognition finding it useful to befriend one another as think-alike colleagues. Each of whom has something of substance to offer the other. Russia would like more armaments, rocketry that North Korea can provide, and North Korea would appreciate some assistance with its own agenda in satellite technology.

So Kim was pleased to express "full and unconditional support" for Moscow's invasion, an echo of the attitude of his mentor Xi Jinping. Pyongyang, he asserted, is prepared to stand forever with the Kremlin against the provocations and threats issued by "anti-imperialists". They had ample time to discuss their concerns and their mutual problems and solutions during a four-hour meeting at Russia's Far East spaceport. If Mr. Putin planned to impress his North Korean counterpart that was the venue that would do it.

The agreement they likely reached without too much of a stretch would have been a deal to provide Russia with North Korean artillery shells and antitank missiles to help fill the gap in Russia's dwindling stock as the war in Ukraine carries on, and Ukraine has proven itself able to give as well as it gets. Kim's expectation is that the compliment would be returned in the sharing of Russian expertise in space technology.

Kim is after Russian help to develop military reconnaissance satellites, crucial in his agenda, to enhance his nuclear-capable missile threat. The arrangement Putin made to meet with Kim at the Vostochny Cosmodrone, was an open code of agreement. Belying Russia's Security Council role in voting against giving aid to North Korea in the sphere of advancing Kim's military ambitions. But Putin denies that Russia is flaunting the sanctions that prohibit sourcing weapons from Pyongyang.

The private train of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un is seen at the railway station in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East on September 15 AP

North Korea's leader has been embarrassed and frustrated by the technical failures his researchers have encountered in getting a first military spy satellite into orbit. So he has high expectations of his great good friend, Vladimir Putin. And Mr. Putin went out of his way to courteously extend his great regard for Kim as a world leader of note by meeting Kim's limousine at the entrance to the launch facility.

The issue revolves around North Korea's likely possession of tens of millions of elderly artillery shells and rockets of Soviet designs in his possession which could boost the Russian army's chances of success in Ukraine. North Korea has previously been accused by the United States of providing Russia with arms, of selling artillery shells to the Russian mercenary group Wagner, although both Russia and North Korea deny any such claims.

The international sanctions Russia has supported against buying arms from or providing rocket technology to North Korea would of course be violated should any such agreement come to pass. Kim asked countless questions abut the rockets from a Russian space official at the Soyuz-2 space rocket launch, as a reflection of his keen interest and preoccupation with space technology.

Statements for public consumption of a non-controversial nature included talk of "lots of interesting projects in areas such as transportation and agriculture", noted Mr. Putin. Moscow prepared to provide its neighbour with humanitarian aid, as well as opportunities for "working as equals". Military cooperation? nada; Russia abides by the sanctions prohibiting procurement of weaponry from Pyongyang. Or not.